Real wedding: Rachel and Michael

When an Italian Family gets together with a Lebanese family for a wedding in Kangaroo Valley, you just know it’s going to be a big night!

The Ceremony

Walking down the winding path to the rock cathedral at the picturesque Kangaroo Valley Bush Retreat. it was a mild Saturday afternoon, and guests made their way to join us for the breathtaking ceremony of Rachel and Michael, soon to be the new Mr and Mrs Musumeci.

The stunning florals lit up the space and set the scene for a truly elegant yet fun affair, a theme which continued throughout the evening. The Vows were heartfelt and personal, and the music complimented nicely throughout. The ceremony, conducted by Julie Winter brought a soft and thoughtful warmth to the day, keeping things light and fun.

Cocktail Hour

We then made our way up the sandstone steps to the sunset deck to enjoy some canapés and cocktails while overlooking the majestic view of the native bushlands of Kangaroo Valley and the winding kangaroo river.

Rachel and Michael got some portrait shots done around the grounds thanks to Mitch Pohl, with some behgind -the-scenes footage captured by Craig Holbrook. The guests enjoyed some cocktails and watched the shadows casting across the valley as the sun descended over the mountains to the soundtrack of some soft smooth jazz and love songs.

The Reception

We ventured inside the main hall and got settled there before the bridal party grand entrance – and what an entrance it was! A full production featuring c02 Cannons, dry sparks thanks to Sydney Fireworks, and Joey and his team of Lebanese drummers from the A-team to welcome the bridal party and our stunning bride and groom.

The partying began immediately, with the drumming continuing along and guests joining in with Rachel and Michael on the dance floor for a pre-dinner boogie. That set the tone for a fun night ahead!

After resuming our seats we prepared for the dinner courses, accompanied by some touching speeches by both family and dear friends of Rachel and Michael.

The time flew by as our couple also made time to do the rounds to chat with all the guests at their tables.

It was then time to resume the formalities of the evening. We moved the cake to the centre of the dance floor for the ceremonial cake cutting. With a toast from the bride and groom, the cake was cut to the backdrop of more dry sparks.

The cake we briskly moved aside to make room for our couples first dance. This was an extra special moment, as we were treated to a live performance – Rachel and Michael performed their first dance while Rachel’s cousin Jonathan sang a live rendition of Dancing in the moonlight. We had arranged beforehand to play an acoustic instrumental backing track of the song alongside it. Truly a lovely result!

The Party!

After the father daughter dance, we opened the dance floor with another classic love song – time after time. The slow dancing ended there, as from here on it was nothing but high energy dance floor bangers thanks to Alex from Unity Entertainment!

Dipping between English music and some Lebanese music with the drummers, the dancefoor was full until the very end. As most guests were staying on site, is was not uncommon to see some guests leave breifly only to return in some more comfortable party attire!

It was an interesting sight to juxtapose some people in tuxedos with some wearing hoodies and football jerseys later in the night, it made for a nice relaxed house party feel towards the end of the event.

We danced till midnight, and even after then a few guests gathered in the adjacent suite to continue sharing stories and conversing after the bar closed and the amplified music stopped.

Rachel and Michael, this was one to remember for all the right reasons!